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DHS deputy secretary confirmed

Alejandro Mayorkas

The Senate has confirmed Alejandro Mayorkas as deputy secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, the No. 2 position at DHS.

The vote was 54-41 along party lines. Republicans who opposed confirmation cited an investigation of Mayorkas by the department's inspector general, part of a broader inquiry into the foreign investor program at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which Mayorkas previously led.

He is alleged to have helped obtain visas for Gulf Coast Funds Management, a firm led by Anthony Rodham, brother of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mayorkas denies the allegations.

Senate Democrats said the investigation has revealed nothing improper about Mayorkas' actions. The probe is expected to continue until February.

He will step into the job just as the department gets a new secretary, former Pentagon Chief Counsel Jeh Johnson, who was confirmed earlier this week. DHS' Acting Undersecretary for Management Chris Cummiskey told attendees at a Washington, D.C., technology conference on Dec. 18 that Johnson is set to start work on Dec. 23.

In addition, DHS' IT operations officially got a new top manager on Dec. 17. In a blog post that day, Acting Deputy Secretary Rafael Borras welcomed Luke McCormack as the department's new CIO. McCormack had been CIO and deputy assistant attorney general for information resources management at the Justice Department. He was named to the DHS position in October.